Garment hanger device



Feb. 18. 1969 l. n.1'lss GARUEN'II HANGER DEVICE Filed NOV. l. 1967 FIGJ lNVENTOR Ammm MID ri BY //an! /ak- United States Patent O 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF TI-IE DISCLOSURE This device, adapted to be placed over a triangular garment hanger, consists of a flat blank of stiff material having a front panel, two aps at the upper portion of the panel and a collar spreader between the flaps across the top of the vertical center line of the panel. The aps are adapted to be folded down along fold lines that diverge outward and down from the ends of the collar spreader. The fold lines thus form a half-conical portion at each side of the panel, sloping down and adapted to rest on the shoulder supports of a garment hanger to provide Wider curved shoulder supports than the hanger. The collar spreader is adapted to hold open the collar of a garment hung on the device.

The present invention relates to garment hangers and more particularly to a device consisting of a at blank of stiff material adapted to be folded in a manner to be placed over a triangular garment hanger to provide wider shoulder supports than the hanger and a collar spreader for holding open the collar of a garment hung on the device.

The device of this invention is adapted to be stored in flat condition and to be readily folded into the form in which it is utilized on a triangular garment hanger. It is made of stiff material, such as cardboard, and is especially suitable for improving the garment support provided by simple triangular coat hangers, such as conventional wire coat hangers that are widely available. This device is advantageously used by tailors, dry cleaners and others for converting conventional thin wood or wire coat hangers easily and inexpensively into hangers that have a better conguration and supporting surfaces that are better for garments than the hangers on which they are adapted to be used.

In accordance with the Iinvention the subject blank, when in flat condition, has Aa front panel and a pair of aps with a collar spreader between the flaps. The flaps are adapted to be folded over the front panel along fold lines that diverge outward and down from the lower ends of the opposite edges of the collar spreader. When the aps are thus folded the diverging fold lines at each side of the blank form a half-conical curved surface between the respective flap and the front panel. The downward slant of the fold lines .is such that the half-conical curved surfaces rest on the sloping shoulder support portions of a conventional coat hanger and provide relatively wider and more appropriately curved shoulder supports to supplement the shoulder supports of the h-anger underneath.

The collar spreader, which extends at right angles across the upper end of the vertical center line of the front panel, has two generally vertical opposite side wings spaced apart for engaging a collar of a garment placed over the device and holding the collar open so that the garment is arranged to hang from the device in a natural manner.

Further objects, advantages and features of the device of this invention appear in the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the Iinvention shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a flat blank comprising the device of this invention, showing the blank in front of a conventional triangular garment hanger on which the 3,428,229 Patented Feb. 18, 1969 ICC blank is adapted to be used, said hanger being indicated in dash lines;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the blank in folded condition on a hanger, showing in dash line a part of a garment hung on the device;

FIGURE 3 is a back view of the device and hanger shown in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of FIGURE 3.

Referring to the drawings, a blank 10 comprising the device of this invention is adapted to be folded into a form that enables it to be supported on a conventional garment hanger 11 that has a hook 12 -at the top and two side pieces 13 slanting downward and outward respectively from opposite sides of the base 14 of the hook.

As illustrated in FIGURE 1, the blank 10, which is a sheet of stiff material such as cardboard, has a front panel 15 dimensioned to extend over the area of the hanger between the sides 13, from the base 14 of the hook down. At right angles across the top of the vertical center line 17 of the front panel is a collar spreader portion 16 that has opposite side wings 18 adapted to engage a collar of a garment to hold the collar open and thus assist in preserving the drape of a garment hanging on the device of this invention.

As best seen in FIGURE 2, the collar spreader portion has a notch 20 therein at the base of the edge to receive each wing of a collar 22 of a garment, and the outer end of each wing projects downward, as indicated at 23, to provide a narrow opening for the notch, the outer end of each notch being narrower than the inner portion thereof for permitting the wing to clamp down on a collar 22 received in the notch to hol-d the collar opening in place. The central part of the collar spreader portion 16 is provided with an -aperture 24 through which the hook 14 of the hanger is received for positioning the blank 10 on the hanger. When the blank is placed on the hanger, the hook 14 is passed through the aperture 24, from the back of the blank to the front in the manner indicated in FIG- URES 2 and 3. The collar spreader portion 16 may be left upright, in which case its central portion is displaced by the portion 14 passing in front of it, or it may be folded back at right angles to the front panel; the projections 23 are adapted to clamp the edges of a collar in the notches in either position.

At the upper portions of the blank 10 are ap portions 26 and 27 extending from the upper portions of the front panel 15, respectively, at opposite sides of the vertical center line 17. At each side the junction between the front panel 15 and the respective ap portions 26 and 27 is defined by a plurality (eight in drawings) of fold lines 29 diverging outward and downward respectively from points adjacent to the lower ends of the wings 18 of the collar spreader portion 16. As indicated in FIGURE l, the fold lines 29a, which are the center two fold lines at each side, slope down at an angle from horizontal that is slightly less than the angle of slant-from the horizontal-of the sides 13 of the hanger. When the ap portions 26 and 27 are folded down, as seen in FIGURE 4, the fold lines 29 assume an arcuate array and form generally half-conical connecting portions 28 between the front panel 15 and the flap portions 26 and 27, the small ends of the 4half-conical configurations being at the lower ends of the Wings 18. When half-conical connecting portions 28 are thus formed, the central fold lines 29a then slope downward substantially at the same angle as the sides 13 of the hanger 11 so that lthe peak lines of the connecting portions 28 are adapted to rest on the side pieces 13 when the blank 10 is folded, as above, and placed down over the hanger 11 in the position illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3.

The connecting portions 28 thus provide supplemental shoulder supports for the hanger. The outer ends of the connecting portions 28 in particular are considerably wider than the side pieces 13 of the hanger and thereby provide more natural support for a garment than the hanger 11.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 3, the ends 26a and 27a of ap portions 26 and 27 at the upper central portion of the blank 10, project above the collar spreader portion 16 when the blank is in unfolded flat condition (FIGURE l), and are adapted for one to overlap the other when the tlap portions are fol-ded over in back of the front panel 15. As indicated in FIGURE 3, the end 26a overlaps the end 27a and is provided with a tongue 30 that is adapted to be received in a slit 31 in the end 27a and a notch 32 in the base of tongue 30 is adapted to be pressed down over the bottom end 33 of slit 31 to secure the ends in overl-apped position.

The ap portions 26 and 27, and tongue 30 and slit 31, are dimensioned and arranged so that when the flap portions are folded and overlapped, as above, the ap portions are drawn together under tension which causes them to are out relative to the front panel 15 and thereby provide additional body to the folded blank 10.

When a garment is hung over the folded blank on the hanger 11, the collar of the garment is held open and rmly in place, as described above, so as to cooperate with the half-conical portions 28-which provide shoulder supporting surfaces-to provide more natural support for a garment than the hanger 11 by itself. Thus the device of this invention converts an ordinary wire coat hanger into one that is better adapted to preserve the proper drape of a garment placed thereon.

For convenience, the front panel may be provided with a horizontal slot 35, through which to hang trousers, skirts or other garments. As shown, the slot 35 is preferably formed with a flap 36 hinged to its bottom edge and the ap is bent out and down to form a narrow shelf that provides better support than a single thickness of the panel would.

The above detailed description is of an illustrative embodiment of this invention and it is to be understood that various modifications may be made in the structure and arrangement shown and described without departing from the scope of the invention dened by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A garment hanger device adapted to provide a collar spreader and supplemental shoulder supports on a garment hanger that has a hook at the top and two sides slanting outward and downward respectively from opposite sides of the base of said hook to support the shoulders of a garment on the hanger, said device comprising a at blank of stiff material having: a front panel to extend substantially over the area between said sides of said hanger from the base of said hook downward; a collar spreader portion extending substantially at right angles across the upper end of the vertical center line of said front panel and having two opposite side wings for engaging a collar, and holding apart, the edges of the collar of a garment, said collar spreader portion having a notch therein at the base of each wing to receive an edge of a collar of a garment, the outer end edges of each of said notches being closely spaced apart and being narrower than the inner end edges thereof for permitting the wings to clamp a collar received therein, two flap portions extending from the upper portions of the front panel respectively at opposite sides of said vertical center line; and a plurality of fold lines formed in said blank between said front panel and each of said ap portions; said fold lines diverging outward and downward from points adjacent the lower ends of the wings of the collar spreader portion for forming generally half-conical connecting portions between the front panel and the respective flap portions when the latter are folded down in back of the front panel whereby, when said ap portions are folded as aforesaid, the said half-conical portions are adapted to rest on said sides and provide supplemental shoulder supports for a garment hung on said device.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said collar spreader portion has an aperture formed in its central portion for positioning said blank on said hanger.

3. The device of claim 1 in which said ap portions have ends adapted for one to overlap the other when the flap portions are folded down in back of said front panel and including means for holding them in said overlapped position.

4. The device of claim 3 in which said means comprise a tongue on the overlapping one of said ends and a slit formed in the other of said ends, said tongue having a notch formed therein adapted to engage an edge of said slit for holding the tongue in the slit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,141,540 12/ 1938 Leash 223-87 2,444,345 6/ 1948 Friedman 223-98 2,578,383 12/1951 Tomarin 223-98 2,609,977 9/1952 Lausch 223-92 2,620,103 12/1952 Antolini 223-93 3,285,481 11/1966 Zintel 223-87 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner. 

